Four Things and a Lizard
by A Hopeful Voice
Summary: Upon Rose's return to London, the Paternoster Gang invites her to investigate a new case with them: the Ghost Club seeks their expertise regarding a disruptive ghost at Westminster Abbey. [Sequel to the Moment of Gallifrey, Part II in the Lady Arkytior Series]


**Hello! This is the (not so) long awaited sequel to the Moment of Gallifrey! It's a Doctor-lite sort of episode, featuring our favorite Victorian crime fighting team. I think it will be a five part short story, so please keep checking back. Also, you can follow me on tumblr (****hopesvoice) or on the tumblr I've created for this series (ladyarkytior).**

**Enjoy, and please review!**

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**Four Things and a Lizard**

_Part I_

Snow gracefully fell from the sky, dusting across the already snowy surfaces of London. Rose walked slowly, feeling each press of her boot into the thick snow. She looked down at her hand, staring at the address she scrawled across her skin in black ink. Looking up at the numbers on the houses, she was relieved to see them increasing as she continued further down Paternoster Row. It was becoming rather cold.

Finally arriving at Number Eleven, Rose took a deep breath of the icy air and walked up the steps, trying not to slip. As she reached the top, she raised a gloved hand and rapped on the door with a firm fist.

She didn't have to wait long. Mere seconds after knocking, the door was pulled open by a short, stout man with a very bald head. If Rose didn't know better, she would think he was just a very unfortunate looking human (or maybe half-human, half-potato). But in her centuries of living, she knew exactly what he was: a Sontaran.

"Identify yourself, or die in the pursuit of glory for the Sontaran empire!" barked the alien.

"Rose Tyler," she said, raising an eyebrow. "More commonly known as the Bad Wolf, or possibly Lady Arkytior."

The Sontaran blinked at her and said, "Are you prepared to fight to the death in defense of your measly human life?"

A voice from inside the house called, "Strax!"

He rolled his eyes and stepped aside. "You may enter, primitive life form."

Just as Rose stepped inside the door, a thin woman in a black maid's uniform entered the foyer, arms folded across her chest. "Strax," said the woman, her voice comforting to Rose after so many years without hearing a proper London accent (if that wasn't too much of an oxymoron). "You gotta be nice to our guests. Especially when we _know_ they're comin'," she added. To Rose, she offered a hand and said, "Pleased to meet ya, Miss Tyler. I'm Jenny Flint."

Rose smiled. "Could I bother you for a cuppa? 's a bit cold out."

"It's already on the table," Jenny said with a returning smile. "Madame wants you to please start the fire in Miss Tyler's room, Strax."

"Just Rose," she interjected.

Strax looked between the two women before grimacing and heading towards the staircase. As Jenny led Rose through the house to the drawing room, they could hear Strax stomping around upstairs. The house was nice, with modern accents displaced from time. It was clear that they were time travelers, if only from the books on the shelves and futuristic fixtures.

Sitting in the drawing room was Madame Vastra, a Silurian and friend of the Doctor. Vastra motioned to the seat across from her, and Rose sat, pushing her skirts around so they were more comfortable to sit on. Let it never be said she appreciated _all_ forms of period dress.

"How are you this evening, Lady Arkytior?" asked Vastra. "We were honored to receive your letter."

"I'm good, thanks. You?" she replied.

"I am well," Vastra said, offering Rose a teacup. Rose took a sip, grateful for the warmth. "So tell us, how have your adventures been going? Have you spoken with the Doctor recently?"

Rose shook her head as she set down her cup. "Not since I left him in Trenzalore. I had been living in stasis for centuries, simply being. Gallifrey was beautiful, but it was never exactly what I wanted for myself. I lost everything and everyone, and I didn't know who I was. I stopped living for myself or for any purpose. This time has been good for me. I needed to figure out who I was again. I've strayed quite far from Rose Tyler. But I think I know where I am now. And that's why I've come here."

Vastra smiled. "We've not seen the Doctor since we rescued him and Miss Clara Oswald in Sweetville. Though I believe it is high time we received a visit from them."

Rose frowned, thinking of a petite body at her feet. She hoped the Doctor did the right thing by taking Clara home to her family. That poor girl deserved so much better than to just disappear and never be heard from again. Rose knew from experience. She only wished she could have known Clara better, for the girl seemed to have been good for the Doctor.

Gold flitters could be felt in Rose's fingertips, and she grasped the china cup tightly to refrain from unleashing the power of Bad Wolf on the timelines and returning Clara Oswald to life. She had learned her lesson with Jack Harkness.

Madame Vastra seemed to sense Rose's discomfort, turning to Jenny and saying, "Have you heard from Mr Lodge lately?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, but I did receive a message from Lord Byron, requesting our meeting tomorrow to be moved to later in the day."

Vastra nodded. "Tell him that we will be at the abbey at half past eleven tomorrow." Jenny acknowledge the directions and left to inform Lord Byron. To Rose, Vastra said, "We were recently contacted by a member of the Ghost Club, an organization dealing with the supernatural. They seem to believe that the ghost of Charles Dickens is haunting churchgoers at Westminster Abbey. Utterly ridiculous, of course."

Rose couldn't keep the grin off her face. "I met Charles Dickens!" she exclaimed. "The Doctor and I went to Cardiff on one of our first trips, and we had to solve a ghost mystery on Christmas. It was fantastic! The ghosts were these aliens called the, um...the Gelth, and they were trying to rip their way into the world through the Rift that runs through the center of Cardiff."

Madame Vastra gave Rose a toothy grin. "That settles it then, Miss Tyler. You will help us solve the mystery at Westminster Abbey."

For the first time in a long while, Rose smiled and actually meant it. Maybe this wasn't a trip with the Doctor, but she could do some good without him.


End file.
